Municipalities: Western Cape the Best

Publication of Non-Financial Census of Municipalities

Western Cape provides best basic services

Statistics South Africa has just released their non-financial census of municipalities. This publication is published yearly and monitors the provision of free basic services and poverty alleviation programmes by municipalities. It provides baseline non-financial information from all 278 municipalities in the country. This information is used by policymakers and other interested parties for analysis, planning and monitoring purposes when it comes to delivering basic services such as water, electricity, sewerage and sanitation as well as solid waste management.

Stats SA kindly provides the following summary of the P9115 – Non-Financial Census of Municipalities for the year ended June 2014-report on their website: “The number of consumer units receiving services from municipalities increased between 2013 and 2014. The highest percentage increase from 2013 to 2014 in the provision of services was recorded in sewerage and sanitation (5,9%), followed by solid waste management (5,6%), electricity (4,6%) and water (3,9%).”

DA-lead Western Cape offers top free basic services to the poor

It is interesting to note that the official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) that runs the Western Cape Province, leads in all categories depicted in the latest non-financial census of municipalities. The Western Cape demonstrates the highest proportion of residents and/or consumers that benefited from:

Free basic water services (75.7%)

Free basic electricity services (44.9%)

Free basic sewerage and sanitation services (69%)

Free basic solid waste management services (52.8%)

Government should walk the talk and improve basic service delivery

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan launched the “Back to Basics”-strategy a year ago, promising that government will see to it that municipalities get basic services right, and heed concerns from the public.

The DA reckons ANC-lead municipalities are “lagging far behind” when it comes to delivering improved basic services. The DA wants all South Africans to live with dignity — the proof is in the pudding: the “DA-run Western Cape delivers the best free basic services to the poor”. Read the DA’s Service Delivery Policy here.